Let the Bells Ring Out review: Milly Johnson's festive tale of love and second chances
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Seven strangers find themselves stranded aboard a luxury steam train as Christmas approaches in Milly Johnson's latest feel-good novel. Packed with romance, humour, unexpected friendships and second chances, Let the Bells Ring Out promises a festive escape full of warmth and magic.
If love, laughs, new beginnings and second chances are what you’re looking for as the Christmas season draws near, then head off on a rollercoaster train ‘ride’ with the inimitable Milly Johnson, an author whose gift is to give her readers the book hug they long for.
There can be no better way to get ready for the season of family, friendship and togetherness than to escape into one of the dazzling wintertime worlds conjured up by this bestselling Barnsley author whose warm-hearted stories are the perfect match for her hearty Yorkshire humour.
Loved by readers for her eternal optimism and feel-good fiction, Johnson has turned rom-coms into a very special art form, bringing us stories that blend heartfelt emotions with laugh-out-loud comedy, gritty reality with gorgeous romance, and moments of sheer magic with the downright prosaic.
And she’s back with Let the Bells Ring Out, a veritable blitz of drama featuring seven people, four days and a snowy Christmas on board a luxury sleeper train which gives a whole new meaning to ‘getting away from it all’ as a snowstorm stalls their festive plans.
When seven strangers, all trying to get to their destinations for the holidays, find themselves stranded on a snowy platform just days before Christmas, they find shelter in the Yorkshire Belle, a glamorous steam train all decked out for an escapist festive getaway.
Each with their own hopes and dreams, secrets and sorrows, they board the train as strangers, but as the snow keeps falling and they realise they are going nowhere fast, they are forced to slow down and embrace the present.
For Elizabeth, this is a welcome delay from facing the wrath of her family and her fiancé. For Roo, it’s a distraction from her ex’s wedding taking place on Christmas Eve, and Frank hopes this might be a chance to reconnect with his wife Grace after their tragic loss. Taxi driver Vincent is ignoring his growing feelings for Elizabeth, Santa-for-hire Tim is acting more like the Grinch and problem-fixer Jane can’t get a grip on her own. And is a mysterious new arrival the kindly man he appears to be?
This Christmas on board the Yorkshire Belle, will the friendships they make change their lives forever and will each of them find happiness again?
Billed as the ‘sister book’ to last year’s Christmas cracker, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, this new romp includes some hidden, related gems for readers to spot on their journey through a big-hearted and life-enhancing tale of second chances, unexpected friendships and the joy to be found in the kindness of strangers.
With Johnson’s trademark cast of wonderfully portrayed characters, a big dollop of the author’s wit and wisdom, the guarantee of both laughter and tears, a mountain of snow and a sprinkling of magic, readers will be letting the bells ring out for their favourite book of the season!